The invention relates to managing a system's performance state.
Portable systems, such as portable computers, have steadily become more powerful with improved technology. Still, the processing, storage, and other capabilities of portable systems are limited due to power consumption and heat dissipation constraints. A portable system relies on a battery as its power source when it is not connected to an external power supply such as an AC outlet. As battery life is limited, power consumption in the system is reduced typically by lowering voltage levels of certain components (e.g., the processor) and reducing clock frequencies of these components. For example, the core clock speed of a processor as well as its voltage levels may be reduced to lower the processor's power consumption. This, however, also reduces processor performance.
Portable systems have become increasingly popular as replacements for desktop systems. When used in the office or at a location with access to an external power supply, the portable systems are plugged into the external power supply, either by use of an AC adapter or through a docking station. However, because conventional portable systems typically operate at reduced performance levels due to limitations of the battery and thermal dissipation requirements, performance of portable systems generally lag the typical desktop system. Consequently, a need arises for a solution that would allow portable systems to operate at higher performance levels to approach the performance of desktop systems.